The Restless Chronicles by cjsplace

The Restless Chronicles ~ 6 [PG13]

Riddick stood in the archway, the tilt on his lips which couldn't be considered a smile, the only expression on his face.

"YOU! I thought that you were dead." The Lord Marshall wheeled around to glare at Vaako. He was surprised to see no fear or remorse on the other man's face. What is happening here? This can't be true, not now, not when I am so close. It is just a myth, a prophecy to try and stop me but nothing can and nothing will.

"Are we going to fight or do you need more time to think about it?" Riddick's gravelly voice rang out in the deathly quiet hall. All eyes were on the two challengers sweeping back and forth like a deadly tennis match.

A clear voice broke the silence. "Would a true Necromonger hesitate when a challenge has been given or a battle needs to be fought? Are we sure, the man who says he returned from Underverse isn't 'false'? Perhaps we should put him in the chamber and have the truth of him spoken by our Quasi-Dead." Her words hit a chord in everyone who heard them, even Aereon, who stood at the upper balcony. "Tell me, has anyone of you seen the Lord Marshall fight without using the dark powers he 'obtained' from Underverse? Did none of you question this? Doesn't a true Necromonger leader take his troops into battle? Do they not still thirst for the thrill of the fight or do they sit back and send other to do their bidding?"

The soldiers remembered Buffy on the battlefield on every world they conquered. She didn't let them see her rescue those that she could but that didn't matter. They stomped their feet then started to chant - Challenge...challenge...challenge. Their voices echoed off the walls as the floor vibrated beneath their feet.

The Lord Marshall wasn't sure, how the situation slipped so quickly out of his hands, but knew that he had to do something to get things back in control. He proudly stepped forward to face Riddick. "Are you sure that you are ready to face a true Necromonger, Furyan?"

"Sure, just as soon as you find one, send him over." A deep drawl retorted, causing several snickers from the crowd. "I wouldn't mind another shot at your boy over there." He inclined his head towards Vaako who stood on the balcony with his wife. "That is of course if the misses will allow him to come out and play."

Vaako bristled at the insult. He knew that everyone thought Tersa manipulated him. They were wrong. He saw her for what she was and loved her in spite of it. "I would be happy to face you any time." He regally bowed his head never breaking eye contact with his opponent.

Dame Vaako smiled proudly at her husband then out at the crowd below them. They would all see what a true leader should look like, along with his wife of course.

The Lord Marshall roared causing all heads to turn back to him then move on when they heard the next unexpected sound - laughter. Buffy threw back her head showing the slender column of her throat. It drew all eyes down to her heaving chest then back up to her gleaming teeth and glowing hair.

"What a petulant child you are, I have grown bored these last months watching you strut around this ship. Now," she looked at both men. Her eyes were heavy lidded and glowed a deep emerald in the light. "I have a challenge of my own. Whoever wins between the two of you gets me! That is if either of you are man enough to keep me. Challenge has been issued and accepted, now it is time to begin. Clear the floor so that they may have plenty of room to fight. No man may interfere to aid either opponent and neither opponent may use any weapon other but blade, brawn and brains as is the Necromonger Way."

The Lord Marshall strode forward with his bewitched blade ready in his hand but Buffy's voice called out before he could raise it above his head. "I believe that another blade will suit your needs better for this task, my lord, don't you?" Her tone was steel covered in silk.

He cursed under his breath but took a blade that was quickly thrust into his hands. Riddick stood calmly waiting with his twin blades in his hands, no emotions showed on his face. His polished silver eyes were hidden behind his dark goggles. No one saw him move when the sword struck out at him, he simply seemed to fade away from where he once stood.

Dame Vaako watched the fight with bated breath as her nails bit into her husband's arm. "Let Riddick tire him out, my love, but the final blow must be levied by you. What you kill, you keep, it is the Necromonger Way."

Vaako looked at her as if for the first time he didn't know her, or possibly, it was the fact that she didn't know him. Tersa saw the hunger to strive to be a leader but she didn't see the honor that drove his actions. Perhaps he was wrong about his beautiful wife and her hunger wasn't for the both of them rather only for what power he could bring her through their marriage. He turned back to the fight.

The Lord Marshall was still a seasoned soldier and did not attain his high rank simply from his journey to Underverse and back. He met Riddick's blows with powerful strikes and blocks but realized he wasn't a match for the lethal grace and predatory thirst of the other man.

Buffy watched the deadly dance below her almost reading her nemesis's mind and waited for the events to unfold knowing that her time to join the battle was fast approaching. The Lord Marshall was too dependent on the dark powers he obtained in Underverse. Faced with the realization that he was about to lose, not only the power he fought so hard for but his very life, he would not hesitate to call on those powers ignoring all of the laws it broke, that was when she had to strike.

Nierra and the Purifier waited for Buffy's signal, both prayed that her plan would work. The blue Elemental risked a glance up at her mother who was watching her warrior fight. She wondered what it felt like to watch a prophecy you foretold unfold. Reluctantly pulling her eyes back to her own warrior, Nierra saw her cue and disappeared into a cloud of fine mist.

Riddick ran up a large column, flipping up and over the Lord Marshall and slicing at the large man on the way down with the twin blades. The pain caused the last shred of control to snap in the Necromonger and his dark powers began to swirl around him like a living breathing entity. He pulled his soul free from his body without his audience being none the wiser, moving himself into position to come up behind the Furyan when he felt a tap on his ghostly shoulder. He turned to see Lady Anne's soul looking at him. It wasn't a Lady Anne that he recognized. Her eyes were pools of red and gold while her lips were turned up into a predatory smile.

"I knew that you wouldn't play fair so I thought that I would join the fun. Let's see how you like someone tearing your soul to pieces shall we." Buffy's hand shot into where the Lord Marshall's ghostly heart resided. He screamed when he felt her squeeze it then slowly begin to pull it free from his body. "I wonder where they send bad little Necros who don't succeed in enslaving the people who believed in them. I wonder what the other nations will do when they realize what Underverse is and who really runs it?" Buffy sounded as if she spoke of the weather or what was on the dinner menu which chilled the man before her even more.

"You don't know what you are doing, Lady Anne. They will destroy you and all the others. Isn't it better for them to be slaves than to be gone forever, to be nothing? I can make you my queen, you could rule beside me over all of Underverse." He practically begged her to join him.

She laughed. "You still don't get it, do you? They weren't going to let you rule, you idiot. You were their lap dog, their errand boy. You were bringing them back lots of nummy treats to fuel them for who knows how many more millennia but you were never going to rule. Enough of the confab, let's end this. It looks like your body isn't doing too well without you and since I'm not about to let you do anything, you might as well go back. Oh, just one more thing before I do." Her fingers slide further into his heart, she manipulated them gently whispering words that he couldn't understand then he was free of her powerful grip. "Run along now and die like a good little boy, unless you want me to finish what I started." She watched the captured souls float free from their prison then disappear. Buffy's ghostly appearance vanished. She returned to where Nierra held her body in place with magic ensuring that no one knew that she had ever moved from her spot.

The Lord Marshall rushed back into his body just in time to deflect a blow from Riddick and by some fluke bring up his sword in time to knock the remaining blade from the Furyan's hand. A stunned silence followed as all eyes waited to see what would happen next.

The Purifier moved to the upper balcony to release Aereon before moving them both to a safe place to watch.

Dame Vaako pushed her husband to get down there and end Riddick's life then the Lord Marshall's. Vaako pulled away from her without a word, approaching the battleground. Riddick kicked up knocking the sword away then following through with his other foot to send the Lord Marshall crashing into a golden statue. He advanced on the fallen man who stared at something or someone behind him with a knowing look in his eyes. Riddick prepared himself for a killing strike, turning at the last minute to find Vaako there holding a large war axe.

"Kill him, Vaako; kill him and take your place as my second in command. None will be higher than you save me."

Vaako hefted the heavy weapon in his hand bringing it down in a large arch where it landed squarely in - Riddick's hands.

"NO!" Dame Vaako screamed as she watched the Furyan take the Lord Marshall's head. She heard her own husband saying the words that she had just said to him.

"What you kill, you keep."

Riddick walked over to Buffy, who still stood halfway up the stairs from the throne. "Do I get to keep you? Am I man enough for you?"

"We will just have to test you out to see how you hold up now, won't we." She gave him a smile that made him want to take that test immediately. Buffy put her hand in his to pull him up the stairs before forcing him to sit on the throne. "Many questions have been answered today but there are many more out there." Her hand swept out towards space. Her voice changed until it was many voices speaking one on top of the other. "You have been held in prison for many years and now it is time for you to awaken. The Necromonger Way has been corrupted by the Lord Marshall and those who run Underverse. You now have a choice to make. Do we allow this to go unpunished or do we stop them and never allow this to happen again?"

Everyone who listened to her voice felt as if they were awakening from a dream. The conditioning they underwent through the Lord Marshall's regime was changed to take away much of who and what they were before they became a Necromonger. This was not the original idea for the Necromonger Way. It was meant to be an understanding of mind, body and soul. A way to condition all three in order to use them or close them off when needed, particularly in times of war or pain. The ones who found Underverse found a way to tap into people's unused emotions to power entire cities not to mention enhance their own powers.

"WE STOP THEM! WE TAKE BACK WHAT WAS TAKEN. WE FOLLOW THE TRUE NECROMONGER WAY!" Shouts came from everywhere as memories flooded back and choices were once again part of each person's psyche.

Vaako walked up to his wife looking at her with no emotion showing in his eyes. He still loved her but wasn't sure, if he could forget what she wanted him to do in the name of power and greed. Without saying a word, he walked on by towards their quarters.

"Vaako, my love, please, do not turn from me. I only wanted it for you, for us." Tersa rushed after him and threw herself into his arms.

"I'm not sure you know what it is that you want but I do know that it was not for me or us but for you. You do not know who I am if you could have ask that of me. I plan to help Riddick in any way that I am able if he will allow me. Your choices are your own. Know that what you choose will determine whether we have a marriage or not."

The Necromongers bowed in front of Riddick and Buffy. She bowed her head to them then whispered from the side of her mouth. "Great, only what a few million or so to go."

Riddick gave her a lopsided smile then pulled her down onto his lap. "I believe that we will find something to do that will keep us busy. I believe there was something about a test. I have to warn you that I'm not great on the written but I'm a wiz on the orals."

Heat lit their eyes as lust filled their bodies. They ignored the room of people who waited to hear what would be the next move in their new war.

Aereon and Nierra watched this all unfold. "What are the probabilities that their plan will succeed in turning the Necromongers back to their true path?" The air Elemental asked her daughter.

"Mother, if there is one thing that I have learned working with Buffy these last years, it is that probabilities do not work with her. I have a feeling that your warrior is much the same way. If she thinks they can do it then I would say it is already done."

"But, Nierra, there are so many factors which could go wrong and change the outcome of..."

"You will see what I mean once you have a chance to get to know her better. Buffy doesn't know the meaning of the word quit or can't or don't. Somehow she just finds a way and does."

Buffy and Riddick lay in her large bed breathing heavily. Their bodies glistened with sweat as they curled into each other not wanting to let go. They were finally able to get away from the others and make their way back to her rooms. Barely making it inside the room before they tore their clothes off and mated like animals, the second time was slower but no less volatile. This last time was slow and languid allowing them to explore every inch of each others bodies.

"I want you to know that I don't hold you to any promises and if you want me to leave that I will."

Buffy found herself flat on her back with Riddick staring down at her with silver polished eyes.

"Do you want to leave?" His voice was quiet, almost as if he couldn't get the words out.

She touched his check then trailed her fingers up around his ear.

"No, but I don't want you to think that you are stuck with me. I came here to help you fight the Lord Marshall. I wasn't given a choice about leaving my world but this is my world now. Riddick, this is your choice and I wanted you to know that I will do what you want whether that is stay or go."

She looked away from him. He pulled her face back around to his.

"I didn't want to let anyone else into my life because they always end up getting hurt or dead. But, Buffy," he smirked at her. "You are stuck with me because I'm not letting you go. We already told them that we would help them fight and you can't leave me here to do that alone. You can't leave me."

Buffy rolled over on top of him to look down at him with her red gold eyes.

"I won't, I promise, not until you tell me to go. I know that I have lots and lots more tests for you to take and maybe when you have passed mine, I'll let you test me."

The End.

Author's Note: I do plan an epilogue but not at this time. I know that this ended abruptly but so did the movie. It left you hanging with a lot of unanswered questions. Later when my mind can function again I will come back and let you know what happened to all of the main players - promise.

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The Restless Chronicles ~ 6 [PG13]